Voting is starting soon for the Polaris Music Prize and I have to start actually thinking about the “best” in Canadian Music this past year.  Yours truly is one of the jurors for said prize (and who agreed to having me on board is a whole other issue) and I have some ideas on who I am going to vote for and the voting in general.  Anybody who is unfamiliar with the Polaris Music Prize, it is comparable to the Mercury Prize (UK), Choice Music Prize (Ireland), Australian Music Prize (ummm, Australia) but just the Canadian version of it.

Essentially I was reading the Herohill posts on their long list/short list/list of albums they are thinking of voting for, so I thought I would copy them and do the same.   I think I have a good selection this year, so overall I am not that worried about finding a ‘worthy’ album to vote for at all.  Lots of fantastic albums from some Canucks this year which is no real surprise for me, so that is great.  I do always worry about the idea of “best album” when probably at least half of the music I don’t like right off the bat.  Is that bad to say?

Obviously I like folky and acoustic for the most part – I can appreciate a good album that is not at all related to “folk” music, but do I actually like it and then am I able to vote for it?  This is endless debate in the Polaris forums (as it would be for almost any forum I guess) and for the most part people are just trying to rep an artist that they deem worthy and it is always a subjective thing anyway.  I do however think that without the ‘arguments’ in those forums, there would be missed albums, so good does come out of poor for(u)m, I guess.  Sometimes I do think I find myself a vegetarian being asked to judge a “best steak” contest…but that could just be me!  I am happy to vote and vote I shall.

Who are some of the contenders for me, you ask?  To start, let’s get the criteria for who I can consider…Well the album must be from a Canadian artist (50% + of a band, Canadian citizen, born here, etc) and have an album that is a minimum of 30 minutes (or 8 tracks) released between June 1, 2011 and May 31st, 2012.  So then…who am I considering in alphabetical order?

1. Bry Webb – “Provider”
2. Cold Specks – “I Predict A Graceful Expulsion”
3. The Deep Dark Woods – “The Place I Left Behind”
4. Del Barber – “Headwaters”
5. Feist – “Metals”
6. John K. Samson – “Provincial”
7. Kathleen Edwards – “Voyageur”
8. Ox – “Tuco”
9. Samantha Savage Smith – “Tough Cookie”
10. Siskiyou – “Keep Away The Dead”
11. The Barr Brothers – “The Barr Brothers”
12. The Wooden Sky – “Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun”
13. Weather Station – “All Of It Was Mine”

Sure there are more, but these are some that I have fully listened to and can actually consider.  I will need to listen to some more before I vote, but the above will be considered no matter what.  I have my eye on a couple that are for sure making it through the long and short list for me as long as they make it through the process of voting…I think you might have an idea of who I am thinking of…anyone want to hazard a guess in the comments?

No Ox on Rdio, so below is a Bandcamp Stream for a track.

~Smansmith

Give up yer cash early and then just try to forget about it...

I have made two pre-orders this week so far (and one Kickstarter donation, but that is for another post upcoming).  Who said the music industry was going down the shitter?

Today I would like to urge you all to purchase both the below pre-orders, or at the very least think about it and maybe get your friend to do it and then simply enjoy it with them when it arrives.  The two albums are JBM’s “Stray Ashes” from Western Vinyl and The Tallest Man On Earth’s “There’s No Leaving Now” from Dead Oceans.

First off JBM’s new album ‘Stray Ashes’, it is released very soon (May 22nd) so the pre-order is only for another few days but this is currently my must-have release as I type this.  This album from Jesse Marchant is spectacular and is going to be one of my favourite albums of 2012 for sure.  I know it.  It is very moody, ethereal at times, stunning, et al.  I can listen to the whole album together, which is a feat in itself these days, and it totally works.  There is not a weak track on this album.  The songs flex a bit in style while still falling under the JBM umbrella – listen to “Only Now” then listen to “Ferry” or “On Fire On A Tightrope” and you will understand.  I just can’t say enough about this album right now.  Listen to a few streams below.

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PRE-ORDER NOW: WESTERN VINYL SHOP

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 Next is the new album “There’s No Leaving Now” from The Tallest Man On Earth coming out on June 12th.  The internet was a buzz with the new single the other day when it was released to the hungry blogging world and it is for good reason.  While I haven’t heard the album yet, TTMOE has become one of the most consistent artists for music in my opinion – so it is a no brainer to pre-order this album to be quite honest.  If you appreciate Kristian Matsson’s musical style & vocal timbre in the first place, everything he has released has been top notch.

I also had to specifically mention the pre-order for this one as the bundle was too good to pass up (and I didn’t).  Secretly Canadian (the ever omnipotent overlord of the Dead Oceans label) is offering a smashing deal in my opinion.  Get the Vinyl album, the CD of the album, a 7″ single while quantities last and a couple posters.  For $21.99 USD!!  I run a small indie label as well and I can tell you that is a fantastic deal.  So go and pre-order this bad boy already!

“1904″ – The Tallest Man On Earth
from the upcoming “There’s No Leaving Now”

PRE-ORDER NOW – WESTERN VINYL/SECRETLY CANADIAN SHOP

Go.  Go now.

~Smansmith

Soooooo…what are you purchasing today?  Are you purchasing today?  Are you aware it is Record Store Day?  No, you should look into it by visiting the website for info (I know readers of Slowcoustic know this, this is just a ploy to offer the RSD website to the uninitiated).

I am feeling especially lazy today as it is the weekend and I plan on drinking beer in a pub with my lovely wifey while eating terribly unhealthy food and discussing what we are going to do with our millions of dollars from “trickle down funds” that an older family member wins in the lotto.  You know…Saturday.  So there are stores here in Calgary that participate in RSD (Sloth Records for one – I spent RSD2010 here) but today I fear I am not going to make it past the very edge of the suburbs, hence no bitchin record stores.  This is a tragedy in itself, so I urge you all to visit and purchase something, anything from your local independent musical emporium.

That being said, the musicians are the reason we have records and they often need help as much (if not more) than the record stores themselves.  So there is always purchasing albums online!  We do live in the future after all and can receive goods from around the world with a few clicks of a mouse.  I will pimp my own online label shortly because I can but I also want to see what y’all are picking up?  Are you picking up a RSD2012 specific item or just purchasing an LP you have always wanted but just needed that little push?  My last RSD purchase was the album “Tallahassee” from The Mountain Goats and the self titled “Daniel, Fred & Julie” vinyls.  They are fan-frickin-tastic.  They obviously were not RSD specific albums and I plan on doing a similar purchase today.  I am thinking the new Horses Feathers album “Cynic’s New Year” or the Cold Specks pre-order of “I Predict a Graceful Expulsion” (listen to a track from the Cold Specks RSD2012 release over on The Blue Walrus).  Both are amazing albums and you will want them both on vinyl.  So those are my choices, how about you?

Now we are also having a Record Store Day 2012 over on Yer Bird Records for the two releases we have on vinyl – Hezekiah Jones’ “Have You Seen Our New Fort?” and Ghosts I’ve Met’s “From A Spark”!  Both are great listens and at 50% off (!!), they are a no brainer…if we say so ourselves.  Listen to each below and click over and use your DISCOUNT CODE: “rsd2012“!!  Vinyl only folks.

There you have it.  Enjoy this 2012 version of Record Store Day!

~Smansmith

Saturday usually finds yours truly doing the below;

1. Surfing the internet
2. Purchasing a record
3. Drinking 4-6 pints at local pub with the wifey.
4. Sitting at home after pints, listening to music.

So we now find ourselves at #4 above and wifey is not here and I am starting to listen to music at will after more than a few pints.  I find I often find myself listening to even more “Sad Bastard” type songs after a few beers – I don’t know why, but it often just tends to be me listening to a more than a few track with my inebriated self.

So then let’s find a few tracks to listen to that might be your “Slowcoustic after a few beers” Saturday playlist.

• New Music Co. provided the Fort Frances cover of one of favourite Beck tracks “Guess, I’m Doing Fine”.  See their post HERE and listen: “Guess I’m Doing Fine (Beck Cover)” – Fort Frances.  Find out more on Fort Frances on their website.
• Listening to a new track from John Goraj’s new album.  The song is called Horse and Home from the album “Seen and Unseen” which is quite good (more details on this album in full to come).  Stream the song below and it is a free download on his Bandcamp page!
  
• Another album that hasn’t received the full treatment around these parts is the Adam Arcuragi album “Like a Fire That Consumes All Before It…”.  It can be a bit rough around the edges, but that is the beauty of this album.  A great couple of beers listen – you might find yourself singing to it very quickly.  Listen to a track below:
  
• There is a cover of Josh T. Pearson by Dry The River that I have been enjoying.  As long as Grooveshark doesn’t implode, you can stream it below:
  
• Last but not least is a great Townes Van Zandt cover from A.P. Dugas for “Rake”.  It is a YouTube “video”, but damn it is worth a listen.
  

Okay, I am going to go and try to sober up before dinner now…

~Smansmith

Sorry for the neglect on the blog this week my friends.  I am also cheating and just providing a playlist of tracks I have been listening to…but let’s be honest here – it isn’t the superior journalistic writing that you are here for…you can tell me.  So then, let’s have some links to get some music that I have been enjoying and urge you to as well.

• Seattle Times and their 4 day feature on Damien Jurado covers to promote his upcoming album (my vinyl shipped yesterday!).  So far there has been Jon Russell, Pickwick, Al James (Dolorean) & Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate).  All are worth a listen, but RIGHT HERE you will find James’ version of Cloudy Shoes.
• Horse Feathers have a new album upcoming and they have finally dropped their lead off single via Stereogum.
• Jordan Klassen has a new EP out and there is some great beauties on it.  Currently my favourite is the track ‘Threads’ as it is finger picking indie pop perfection.
• We have been putting up new live videos of Tyler Butler over on the Yer Bird Records/Winter King website.  This week had Tyler giving his best Jake Gyllenhaal impression while singing ‘Kingfisher’.  See for yourself below:
  
  Tyler Butler :: Kingfisher from Yer Bird Records.

That is all I have for now – look for more suggestions this weekend!

~Smansmith

I have had some real great stuff float across my inbox, twitter feed, facebook timeline and overall discovered from my never-ending scouring of the world wide web.  Thought I would share as some of this stuff is just soo damn good that we all need to be listening (if you aren’t already – you Slowcoustic readers tend to be ahead of the curve in the first place…let’s be honest here).

• Lotte Kestner is more than a musician, she is an “official” poet now!  She has a book of poems entitled ‘In the Night I Go Sailing’ and you can purchase HERE.  I also mention this as her words were recently put to the test as lyrics sung by none other than Damien Jurado.  Please swing by her Tumblr page and listen to the demo for “Blind Accidents” HERE.
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• Samantha Crain covered a Slowcoustic favourite Chris Bathgate earlier this year and it has turned up on her Halfway House Music Session.  Catch/Download her version of “Salt Year” over at Halfway House Music HERE.  Watch the video for it below:
  
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• Just a reminder that John Statz is releasing his next full length album with us at Yer Bird Records in January – check out the lead off track “Distance” from our Bandcamp page!
  
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• You have to watch one of the “Notes From Home” videos that features Trespassers William, Joshua Morrison and Tomo Nakayama (of Grand Hallway).  TW even cover The National’s ‘Fake Empire’!
  
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• As I was so impressed with the video above, I checked out both Joshua Morrison (find him here) and Grand Hallway (find them here) that I thought I should share some tracks from them as well!  The Grand Hallway track is the one that Nakayama performs in the video above called “Little Sister” and the Joshua Morrison track is “Bastille Day” from the benefit album Songs for Japan: A benefit for Red Cross (that Grand Hallway has contributed to as well)
  
  
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• Matt Arbogast, or The Gunshy has some new material in the form of a one track sampling that is classic Gunshy.  Listen/Download via Bandcamp embed below:
  
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• Just thought I would post a live track from Ryan Adams as it made it into regular listening this week.  The classic ‘A Bar is a Beautiful Place’ from a 2001 performance: ‘The Bar is a Beautiful Place’ – Ryan Adams
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That is all I got for now, hope you find something in there to enjoy!

~Smansmith

Just pre-ordered my vinyl & T-Shirt combo for the new album via their Bandcamp – go here and get it too!

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This Owen track is EXACTLY how I hear his music.  This is like a greatest hits for Owen turned into a one-track anthem.

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Triggertown’s “TT” album is a FREE download via their Bandcamp page (here) and it includes some great tracks – I specifically love the waning violin matched to the pedal steel  in this track.  Soo good.

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You’re Almost There by Lanterns on the Lake

Lanterns on the Lake are about to release their new album on Sept. 19th and I have always kind of been partial to the spacey mellowed out beauty in their sound.  The new album is no different and provides it in spades.  MP3 download: “You’re Almost There”

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So enjoy your Saturday with a cross section of some music that could quite neatly fit into one corner of the box that is Slowcoustic.

~Smansmith

A little self promotion is never bad.  Right?  RIGHT?

So my little label over at Yer Bird Records is starting a trend in having at least one long weekend 2 for 1 special each year on all our wares and it is happening right now.  Purchase the new Hezekiah Jones LP?  Why not have the new Ghosts I’ve Met LP thrown in for good measure?  Yeah, its great stuff.  LPs, CDs and digital downloads – its the wild west over there this weekend.  See our home page on the label site HERE for more information!

How about a new video performance of a track from the new Pickering Pick album to sway you?  Pickering Pick’s new album “Tiger Balm” is one of the most gorgeous albums you will hear and he is very quickly becoming the master of the lamented ballad.  Something I don’t take lightly.  Sam Pickering Pick was just abroad visiting family and his uber talented sister thought to video a performance of “I Didn’t Know Your Rivers Flowed”.   We will soon be having an extremely limited promotional CD give away for the Tiger Balm album – so if you like what you see/hear below, you will want to swing back very soon.  See the new video below:

I Didn’t Know Your Rivers Flowed from Sera Pickering Pick on Vimeo.

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How about a Yer Bird Records Soundcloud set for you to sway you into releasing all your funds to my pocket…and I guess the artists too…. ;-)

Pickering Pick – “Like A River” by Yer Bird Records
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Ghosts I’ve Met – “Blackwoods” by Yer Bird Records
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Hezekiah Jones – “The Last Parade on Ann St. (Chris Bathgate Cover)” by Yer Bird Records
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Greater Pacific – “Distance” by Yer Bird Records
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White Pines: “Woods” by Yer Bird Records
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The Black Atlantic: “Ella (Live)” by Yer Bird Records
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Sharon Van Etten: “Say So What” by Yer Bird Records
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~Smansmith

So I finally received my Bon Iver vinyl package from Jagjaguwar yesterday after an almost painful 5 week wait.  You see, we had a postal issue in Canada for a month or so and my 4 pack of LPs essentially sat around waiting to be delivered in some warehouse – but alas, it is safe and sound in my home (proof)!

I wanted to have a huge post this morning, almost a stream of consciousness type post as I tend to not plan out too many posts and just write ‘in the moment’.  But alas (again) I don’t know if my thoughts will make it to keyboard quite as eloquently as I might hoped when I planned it last night after a few beers and a new vinyl glow.  You see, what happened is I listened to two tracks from the “For Emma…” album and I was practically taken aback.  What?  The songs, Flume and Re:Stacks felt almost new to me and the songs hit me all over again.  Maybe I hadn’t listened to the album in a while, maybe I had been listening to covers and live versions too many times and the original fell off the radar.  I have to attribute it to that, right?  I mean I didn’t have a life experience during the discovery of the album, so it isn’t tied to a personal experience – but it felt like it did…it was both odd and exciting.

So, you can go back!  You can re-discover an album.

The album “For Emma, Forever Ago” is a modern day classic in my opinion and it was a game changer for the indie scene.  The album itself hit me pretty hard and I was very enamored with it when it first came out (I remember when nobody really knew this guy with his self released album…then Jagjaguwar released it and the legend began).  It took me a few listens to really grasp onto the album with this new guy singing in some other worldly voice…but when it did take hold, it pretty much didn’t let go for at least a year.  But that year slipped into the past and like everything it wasn’t at the forefront of my music listening…I had moved on.  I had even discussed the album without re-listening to it (always a bad decision) and indicated that maybe it wasn’t as good as I remember or that it hadn’t aged that well (as it should have).  Again, it may have been the 4 Indian Pale Ales listening and having the epiphany on my behalf, but even the Mrs. said that she really liked it – and she was 50/50 at best on Mr. Vernon.  I guess this means you can go back.  Really it does.

So what I am rambling on about is the fact that your original gut instinct can be right and the album is (not was) really that good.  You just might need to embrace it and hear it all over again…with a few beers.  For me last night it was the Bon Iver debut, for you it might be something else – but do yourself a favour and grab an original recording of an album you loved at one time or another.  You don’t even have to bring beer…I guess.

As I wanted to play one of the two tracks I listened to last night that inspired me to post a rambling praise piece for Bon Iver, they are not officially approved for posting and only the track “Skinny Love” is – not my favourite on the album if I was to be honest.  So, I thought I would post the new track ‘Calgary’ because was enjoying the 12″ LP last night as well (in fact my copy of the vinyl has both labels saying “Side A”, so I don’t know which is actually side A when I go to listen to it!).  So listen:

“Calgary” – Bon Iver, from 2011′s album “Bon Iver”

Think about Bon Iver all over again, not as the hype magnet he is at the moment – just as a musician, you won’t be disappointed.  Find more from Jagjaguwar here.

~Smansmith

p.s.  I think I might have also been remembering watching a video of Justin Vernon talking about his house on I Guess I’m Floating the other day – Vernon just seemed so personable and normal.  Like a guy you would want to actually hang out with.  I think I am staring head on to a man crush…

“Unkind”

I have always had a soft spot for Sloan since ‘Underwhelmed’ back in the day.  I admit I haven’t followed them exclusively over the last few years, but they seem to still be pretty much Sloan.  The power guitar stroke and pseudo punk-pop feel.  This song I’m posting isn’t exactly ‘Slowcoustic’, but I need a little oompf today to get through until I go on vacation this Friday.  This new Sloan track is providing a bit of that oompf for me.

More On This Album

p.s.  One of my favourite bits of lyrics from Underwhelmed:

She wrote out a story
About her life
I think it included
Something about me
I’m not sure of that
But I’m sure of one thing
Her spelling’s atrocious

She told me to read
Between the lines
And tell her exactly
What I got out of it
I told her affection had two F’s
Especially when
You’re dealing with me

~Smansmith

So, you aren’t at SXSW either?  Good.  Join the crew at CXCW with visiting and contributing to the timely site.

I mean, how are you going to make sure you hear the music you want to, not have to argue blogger vs. journalist and actually be pretty darn comfortable.  Do not deny the couch.

Video:

Conrad Plymouth (one of the best things coming out of the Midwest of the US) covering Heidi Spencer’s “Texas in a Drawer” from her Luck We Made album.  Fantastic.

Now go to your couch, follow CXCW on Twitter and just be.

~Smansmith

p.s.  Is this not the best event?

p.p.s.  Go ahead, scratch if ya want, its your couch…

“Overwrought”, “Self Indulgent”, “Painfully Slow” & “Rambling through the dark without care or focus”.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the new Josh T. Pearson album due out mid March (UK) and end of March (US/Can) – “Last of the Country Gentlemen”.  AND IT IS ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS I HAVE HEARD IN YEARS.

In regards to the opening quotes, I just thought I would get it out of the way what people will say when they ‘don’t get’ this album.  Admittedly, a guy who runs a music blog called Slowcoustic is going to find god in an album like Pearson’s latest.  And I just might have – it has been on constant repeat since I, ahem, obtained it.  Don’t freak out, I ordered the double CD from Rough Trade last week, so it all comes out in the wash…said the defendant…

So we have established that the Josh T. Pearson album “The Last of the Country Gentlemen” is still blowing my mind and I need you to hear another track from the album.  Okay, this version is not on the album, but it is similar to it and it is just as beautifully painful and comes in at just over 7 minutes [it might be one of the shorter songs from an album with 4 of the 7 tracks being over 10 minutes!]   Again, you have to get it to get it, and when you do get it, this album pays in spades.

Listen:

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Please consider picking up this album when it comes out – I am totally going to be that person who buys the CD and Vinyl after having the digital…its that good.

Find Josh T. Pearson:

~Smansmith

Just a quick one to mention that while this post does not have any new tracks, both artists (Loch Lomond & The Builders and the Butchers) had new albums out recently – so why didn’t I mention the split 12″ they did??  [See Slowcoustic mentions of Loch Lomond's "Little Me Will Start a Storm" HERE and The Builders and the Butchers' "Dead Reckoning" HERE.]

Maybe this post also came to be because I just set up my turntable again.  Having started listening to vinyl through more than computer speakers mixed with the bands being pretty darn good led to this post…I assume.   Any excuse to recommend buying music, and then music on vinyl, I guess.  You can purchase the split 12″ they did last year from Bladen County Records and my good friends over at Song, by Toad Records.

So nothing really new here, just a couple of great tracks that make for an interesting release (as I wouldn’t normally put these two bands together).  With the whole idea of vinyl having 2 sides to the music might be the best thing for this split 12″ and really makes it work – in particular going from the airy sounds of Loch Lomond to the (at times) fever pitch of The Builders and the Butchers.  Yes, that is what I’m going with.
Loch Lomond
“Field Report” (mp3)
“When it Rains” (mp3)

from “Split 12 inch”
(Bladen County Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Amazon MP3
Buy the 12″ at Song, by Toad Records
More On This Album

~Smansmith

“So recently I went out and took what was rightfully mine.  It doesn’t matter that they had it first!” – overheard while making this post…

Thought I would share a couple of songs that I have been playing that I found from other blogs.  I mean, I’m just like everyone else who visits blogs – always looking for some tunes and now that I have them I’m going tell you about them as well.   The blogs in question here are the fantastic Vocal Nerd Rodeo and the amazing 5 Score Pachyderm.  Lets look at the music they brought to me, shall we?

Ben over at Vocal Nerd Rodeo had a post on a band named Churchill and a song called “The Only One”.  It was simply good, it made me feel of spring and warmer days and it was getting a fair amount of play.  Maybe it was the crazy catchy chorus, the light hearted melody that took a sad bastard like me out of a funk, but mostly I think it was the accordion.  See the original post on VNR HERE and watch the video below:
The Only One

Churchill | Myspace Music Videos

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Next we have 5 Score Pachyderm with a mix-tape from early February that had a stand out track (for me) in the Jeremiah Nelson (w/ Heidi Spencer) track “Show to Show” from Nelson’s upcoming album “Drugs to Make You Sober” to be released this March.  The song is essentially a lone acoustic track and it is stunning.  It’s simple, but simply perfect – its a great compliment to the upcoming album because it isn’t exclusively a hushed folk album – so it shows the chops of Nelson.  Please take a visit to the original post for the full mix-tape on 5SP HERE and listen to the song below:

So take a listen to Churchill and Jeremiah Nelson as they both have upcoming albums and keep an eye on Vocal Nerd Rodeo and 5 Score Pachyderm for more great musical finds.

~Smansmith

You see what is going on in the photo above?  Yeah, headlights working on a car.  Well this morning (or rather on the drive home yesterday after work), I noticed that the headlights to my car were not, how do you say…working.

This is a bit concerning as I drive to and from work everyday Monday – Friday and my commute is usually at least 2.5 – 3 hours round-trip and lights can come in useful at times (its winter in Calgary, most of my commute is in the dark!).  So today while I sit at work, I am attempting to get the car in to the local garage by my office to have the lights checked out before I leave work today and take my own life (and everyone else on the road) into my hands.  Wish me luck.

“Old, Dim Light” – The Black Atlantic, from the album Reverence For Fallen Trees (buy)

~Smansmith

p.s.  You should still like the song and fall in love with The Black Atlantic.  Just sayin.

Something I am looking forward to is receiving the 12″ limited vinyl of my favourite album of 2010 – Strand of Oaks “Pope Killdragon”.  There is a Kickstarter from Tim Showalter that you (yes, you) are able to contribute to, just CLICK HERE and you can receive one as well (among a crap load of other ‘rewards’).

Okay, to be clear on the current campaign, it is already funded – so it is going to happen.   But come on you don’t want to miss out do you?  It has actually exceeded it’s original goal by over 100% already and who knows where this might lead us!  Tim is a great guy, so you know this success with the Kickstarter campaign will only lead to even more great things – and even more Oaks material!  So join in with the rest of us and go and contribute already!

Also, if you haven’t heard them yet, the Strand of Oaks KEXP tracks are streaming HERE and you can watch the Weekender Video sessions as well as stream the Coach House Sessions HERE.  And if you are really enjoying those live versions, there is also his recent WXPN (The Key) Session with downloads available HERE.  Enjoy a track from the Key Studio Session below, then head over for the rest (including a great track from previous album “Two Kids”!).   Wow, that’s a lot of Oaks for one day…but oddly not enough…

“Sterling (Key Studio Session)” – Strand of Oaks

Visit Strand of Oaks on Bandcamp, Facebook, iTunes, eMusic AND Kickstarter.

~Smansmith

In our other Slowcoustic life over at Yer Bird Records things are happening, I mean really happening.  Being a small music label, we thought we might enjoy a slower “holiday” season to relax but apparently we like to start making arrangements for album releases over one of the busiest times of the year for shipping, vacations and the like.  Well oiled machine I tell ya.

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I want to start off with our next release coming up in January; Greater Pacific will be releasing a 6 track digital EP entitled “Rainfall“!  You might be familiar but if you are not, Greater Pacific are a “side project” of Kyle Kersten and John Phinney from the band Travel By Sea.  It was recorded with fellow TBS’er Mike Cusick on drums and they were lucky enough to have the lovely Angela Correa sing on a couple of tracks.  If you are looking for laid back country infused folk tunes with massive amounts of pedal steel, then this will be for you.  You can see the initial artist page on Yer Bird Records here, and it will grow in the coming weeks before the January 25th release date.  To give you a taste of Greater Pacific in festive form, listen to “Let it Snow” below:

“Let It Snow” – Greater Pacific

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There will also be two more releases in the first quarter of 2011 (both are looking to be in February) from Hezekiah Jones and Ghosts I’ve Met.  The new albums will both be pressed on vinyl (!!) so get ready for Yer Bird’s first vinyl releases folks – they will not disappoint.

Hezekiah Jones’ new album “Have You Seen Our New Fort?” grows on the talents of the Philly folk staple with more of their signature upbeat barn burners along with some of the most poignant ballads I have heard in a while.  The album really allows the talents of lead man Raphael Cutrufello to shine.  There is even a Chris Bathgate cover that is a show stopper (if I had to say, and I do have to).  Look for a mid February release alongside a release show in Philly at the same time).  In the mean time, listen to a song from Hezekiah Jones’ most recent EP “Bread of Teeth” (a song that gets a re-worked version on the upcoming album), listen to Traffic to the Sea below:

“Traffic to the Sea” – Hezekiah Jones

~

Ghosts I’ve Met who also has released with Yer Bird already in the 5 track digital EP “Payphone Patience” is seeing his first full length release also making a vinyl release.  The new album “From A Spark” will also continue on this Seattle singer songwriter’s penchant for creating moody acoustic gems.  Almost perfect for a warm rainy day along the coast.  This will also see a February release, so keep an eye out here and on his artist page on Yer Bird Records.  While we are waiting, listen to one of track from his EP below:

“Payphone Patience” – Ghosts I’ve Met

~~

There you have our record label update.  Y’all up to speed now?  Good.  See every last one of you in 2011!

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/12/05/yer-bird-records-update-greater-pacific-xmas-trackupcoming-ep-in-january-hezekiah-jones-ghosts-ive-met/feed/ 1 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/12/02/just-a-post-with-feathers-the-savings-loan-jeffrey-foucault-ted-wendler-elephant-micah/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/12/02/just-a-post-with-feathers-the-savings-loan-jeffrey-foucault-ted-wendler-elephant-micah/#comments Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:31:35 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=5403

Okay, this was a bit of a stretch for a “theme” post – but I was listening to the new Savings & Loan again (awesome album) and last night I was trolling some forums that were talking about the new Jeffrey Foucault album (Cold Satellite).  Both had promotional tracks with birds, so I just thought I would pass it on with a couple of bonus tracks.

~~~

“Swallows” – The Savings and Loan
This is a fantastic album of mood music, somber at its core and I love it.  With an official December release, I feel like I can’t include it on a best (favourite) of the year list, but I really want to.  Another winner from Song, by Toad Records (visit).

~

“Geese Fly By” – Jeffrey Foucault
This one has been around for a while (in demo form I believe) but sees an official release on the new collaborative album “Cold Satellite”.  As mentioned above, the forums I was reading about him were mentioning that he hasn’t really had much original material in the last few years/albums.  This is true but I tend to take whatever Foucault I can get – this one is killer.  (visit).

~

“Birdsong” – Ted Wendler
I have had this one for a while since Knox Road introduced/posted on this great find of theirs.  This is delicate singer songwriter stuff for those keeping score…and Ted Wendler seems to be winning, so please visit him as we need to see more from this young Minnesota native (visit).

~

“Wild Goose Chase” – Elephant Micah
This one is just because I tend to take any opportunity to post an Elephant Micah track.  This track is taken from his “Spinning On Air” Session for WNYC (I posted on it previously).   For anyone looking to get in on some Elephant Micah – he is now on Bandcamp with a nice new layout and full of great tracks! (visit)

~

There you have it a “feathery” playlist for your Thursday – swing by and visit ‘em all, this is good stuff here folks!

~Smansmith

White Pines, The Falls.  I’m torn on posting here on this as the album is both absolutely fantastic and released by my label.  Torn on discussing the greatness of the evolution of a singer-songwriter or pandering to new “customers”.  So, I plan on just rambling on about the album, so we’ll call it even.

If you already know me or if you are familiar with Slowcoustic, you know what kind of music I tend to gravitate to.  You would also know that Joseph Scott (aka White Pines) had a previous EP released over on Jumberlack called “A Face Made of Wood” (see here).  That EP started my appreciation for Joseph and his music – the EP was crazy good and was on my best EPs of 2009 last year.  Flash forward to summer 2010 and I get an email from Tim Showalter to think about his buddy Joseph because he has a new album and its looking for a home.  Well, I immediately say “let’s discuss” as Tim (who effectively released what will end up being my top album of 2010 with “Pope Killdragon”) knows his stuff.  So there is a tidbit for ya, you can thank Strand of Oaks for Yer Bird Records releasing “The Falls”!

So here I am in my third paragraph and I haven’t even touched on the album itself yet!  So if you have read this far, you might guess that I am trying not to gush or really get into it.  It is hard to describe great music well.  What I mean is, anyone can “review” an album but when you like it, you just like it and that is that…but I can try at least.  The Falls is a step beyond what Joseph has done in the past – he has elevated his game as some folks say.  Some might immediately see the album as a concept album and the more you listen, you might notice it to.  It is very connected and it tells of stories from life, but so are many albums…it is just Joseph Scott does it better than most.  Whether you feel “The Falls” is about a literal location along the journey where water and ideas flow over a proverbial edge of the earth or you feel “The Falls” is a play on words to describe the stumbles and set backs one finds in life.  You can take many things from all aspects of the album and I don’t want to project my thoughts, but…just kidding.

~Audio Break~

“Woods” – White Pines

~~

Sonically, the album is bigger than one person or at least it sounds that way.  You will have layering of instruments that clearly no one person can play at one time and double tracked vocals by Joseph, but that is what makes this more than just a “guy with a guitar” album.  Not unlike Strand of Oaks bringing “Pope Killdragon” to life by moving in a larger/ambient sound, so is White Pines; with them being very different but excellent examples of what Independent Folk music is (hopefully) moving towards.  Listen to a song like the album ending “Warriors” and you have combination of softer acoustics of a more traditional folk song but as the song progresses, you feel the winds coming in and the song grows and turns into more of a sound-scape of wilderness.  Hear a song like “Half Beast” and sit stunned as a man sings an honest hymnal about his life and if it is even his anymore.  You have one of my favourites like “Armor” that is complete with percussion, piano and acoustics that brings waves of almost a wall of sound mid-way and then brings it all back again – a candidate for song of the year for me.  So, then…I like it?  No question.

That is all I am going to do; ramblings by a music blogger about an album he honestly believes in despite being tied to it by his own big bad label (sidenote: we really aren’t that bad).  If you find the time and want an album that you can immerse into sonically or just wander the path of “tracks” that create the journey of a cohesive album…The Falls should be at the top of your list.

Find more White Pines: Label, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter
Purchase more White Pines: Label, iTunes (Ping), Amazon, Stream on Rdio (for the UK, see Spotify)

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/11/23/recommended-new-release-the-falls-by-white-pines/feed/ 1 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/11/20/tales-from-the-canadian-road-zachary-lucky-andy-shauf-interview/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/11/20/tales-from-the-canadian-road-zachary-lucky-andy-shauf-interview/#comments Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:19:55 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=5344

I think touring in Canada can be one of the greatest things for Canadian Bands.  The country is soo vast and truly makes a “road trip” out of a tour, even if you only have 3 shows!  We don’t have super concentrated areas for the most part, so unlike a US band doing a 8 show date, they may only have to drive a couple hundred miles – do that in Canada and you may drive a couple thousand.  That being said, the Canadian tour is something I admire and I recently sat down with two such road warriors who are currently on a tour through the “Western” Canadian landscape.

Zachary Lucky has been featured on this blog a few times as his new album is one of my favourite albums of the year (and will be top 5 at least for Canadian albums this year) and I was lucky (no pun intended) enough to miss their Calgary date just over a week ago, but had a coffee with him and tour mate Andy Shauf the next day.  Below is part of what we talked about and honestly, we just sat around and “talked shop”, but take a look inside the Canadian tour of Zach and Andy:

(Videos, streams and song downloads at bottom of interview)
~~~

• Zachary, even before “Come and Gone” was released, you have been touring and have not stopped.  What inspired such a lengthy Canadian tour(s)?

When I decided to pursue music I went into it with the mind set that I would be devoting most of my time to it – and so that’s what I’ve tried to do.  I don’t feel overly comfortable in the studio (although this past record was a different experience…) and performing live seems to be what comes natural to me, plus I love getting to travel as much as possible.  Also though, in recent weeks I’ve come to realize where I (probably) got my sense of how touring should go – and I feel that my idea os touring were probably sprung from the music scene that I grew up in, which was the hardcore and punk music scene.  When I started to go to shows at a young age, it was to see bands that toured for months on end, night in and night out.  It probably had a lot to do with how I now approach touring.

• People don’t automatically think of Saskatoon/Saskatchewan for music, tell us about the Saskatoon Music Scene – the two of you are examples of the young talent in the city, what creates the urge to be a musician in SK.

Zachary: I don’t know if there is anything that really urges anyone to make music in the prairies specifically, I think there is a collectiveness to the prairies though.  Believe it or not, there is a ton of great music coming out of the prairies, Saskatoon and Regina Specifically.  I feel blessed to be among those artists that are taking their songs out of the province, around the country.

Andy: The Regina music scene is pretty close-knit. There are some great bands and talented individuals in the city. My urge to be a musician comes from my urge to be a good songwriter, and I think that’s influenced strongly by my living in the prairies.

• You both have new albums out, tell us about them or something about what brought them to be.

Zachary: I feel that Come and Gone was a natural progression for me – with three two EPs and a pre-release to the record, it came pretty naturally.  The record definitely took its time though, and wasn’t a fan of sticking to any sort of plan.  We originally planned to do the record with a couple different producers, one in Saskatchewan, and one in British Columbia.  Both plans fell through.  So we took what we had in our hands (metaphorically) and used it to the best of our abilities.  We spent two weeks in the attic of a 100 year old home in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and crafted what became Come and Gone.  All in all, I am super happy with how things turned out, but in the same breath – I can’t wait to start working on new songs, and some sort of new release.

Andy: My new album is an EP of songs that I really liked to play live right after my full length Darker Days came out. They are a little bit older, but they are songs that I feel were important to a time in my life.

• What is on your road trip mix-tape?

Zachary: A few records that I’ve been listening to a lot:
Deep Dark Woods – Winter Hours
J. Tillman – Year in the Kingdom
The Band – S/T
Roscoe Holcomb – That High Lonesome Sound
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Ashtray Rock
Wilco – Ghost is born / Being there

Andy: Zach just pumps the Nickelback all day and I plug my ears. Just kidding

• As a blogger, I sit and write about artists being out there on the road, but don’t actually experience it.  What is the most challenging thing / most rewarding thing when touring?

Zachary: The road can both be real easy, and natural, and quite difficult and isolating sometimes.  I think what I find hardest is how you can be distanced from society, and any sense of stability and normality.  In this documentary about Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Conor says something along the lines of… “The longer you are gone, the less you can relate to anyone outside of the tour” and I find that to be pretty true.  I think touring is like any other job, you can totally let it get you down, or you can make it the best thing you’ve ever been apart of.  Its all what you make it.

Andy: The most challenging thing is probably just being away from home, and then coming back and wanting things to be the same as they were. The most rewarding thing is probably just playing shows.

• What has been the most receptive audience so far on tour (outside of hometown), either together or on your individual tours?

Zachary: On this particular tour so far, we’ve only three or four shows into the tour so things are still getting going – but out of the shows Andy and I have done together I would have to say that our house show in Calgary was the most enjoyable for me.  It was packed to the rafters and there were people sitting upstairs against the railings, and crowded on the floor in this tiny living room – the place really felt full (which it was) – but everyone was there for the same reason.  And I think those sorts of shows can be really amazing when everyone is on the same wavelength and there for the same purpose.  It was a beautiful night.

Andy: We played in Edmonton a few nights ago a guy got kicked out of the bar for being disruptive, so that was pretty cool. They were pretty receptive. I’ve never had that happen before.

• Do you consider being tagged as “Canadian Musicians” as a sense of national pride or a descriptor for being in a niche market?

Zachary: I totally would wear the hat of being a Canadian Musician.  I think the music business is constantly changing, especially in the past few years.  Its gone from Canada being the hat to the American Music Industry to us being our completely own entity and I think that is something to really be proud of.  I’m so proud about it and feel honored to be among the many amazing musicians that are leaving their mark on the music scenes around the world.

Andy: I think it’s a good thing. People seem to be interested in what’s going on in ‘Canadian Music’ these days.

• What is the biggest tool to getting noticed as a musician in Canada – is it the Web (and what parts), is it the tour or does the old adage “Make great music, make great fans” ring true?

Zachary: I think its a combination of both, the use of internet marketing and performing live.  For me, I rely pretty heavily on touring.  Its what I feel I excel at most, and in regards to touring, I think its just important to be consistent in different cities.  People want to know that they’ll be able to see you perform in their city after the release of your record, and then a few months after that.  At least as a listen, I feel that way.

Andy: I just to make good songs and hope that people want to keep listening. I have some pretty loyal fans and I’m incredibly lousy at doing internet things, so maybe it’s working out.

There you have a little insight into the touring of two of Saskatchewan’s best new musicians.  They still have 7 dates together upcoming (See Zach’s MySpace page for a crap load of upcoming dates).

Find a video of Zachary playing “Small Town Streets” for Naked Jams Sessions – fantastic, you will see why I have been enjoying his album soo much.

~

Bonus stream of “O’ Ontario” – this one kills me!

~

I also had a chance to listen to the new release from Andy Shauf, and I have to say I am hugely impressed with this guy.  He comes across as a quiet guy at first, but you know he has a sense of humour and an incredible talent for songwriting.  The new release that he is selling on the tour is called “Waiting For The Sun To Leave” and is such a hushed collection of acoustic tracks that range from almost upbeat to a extra quiet laments – if you find it, definitely pick up a copy.

“Open” from Andy Shauf that appears on the new album:

“With You” – Andy Shauf, from “Waiting For The Sun To Leave”

Thanks again to both of this guys for stopping by a coffee shop in Calgary before heading out to BC to play shows.  If you can catch either one of these two, I recommend it….if only you can tell me how the show was as I keep missing them…

Zachary Lucky: Bandcamp, MySpace, iTunes
Any Shauf: Bandcamp, MySpace, iTunes

~Smansmith

I have a love/hate relationship with JVM.  What you say?  It’s true.

Well, let’s get the awkwardness out of the way.  I love the guy’s music from the first time I heard it.  He contacted me about a year and a half ago with some new songs he had demos for and I instantly loved them (see post here).  Definitely Slowcoustic material if I ever heard it.  But…you simply can’t “legally” purchase a download of anything from him other than one song via iTunes in Canada from what I can find.  This can’t be personal right?

I have had his album “Early in the Morning” for about a year now only because he personally sent it to me.  It still hasn’t made it to be distributed in Canada with the saving grace being that you can purchase a physical CD direct from him in Ireland via his website ($22.50 w/shipping) and have it sent over.  I am a fan of physical media, so this definitely placates me if I was looking to purchase an album…mostly.  Even in the US, you can only purchase a 4 track EP that is essentially made up of selected tracks from his full length album, but still no actual album can be purchased in the good ol’ USA either.  I just think the guy needs more people to love him like I do and all I can think is that there are some wonky deals going on behind the scenes.  So to recap, love James, hate his distribution network.  ’nuff said.

But some good news is that he has a new 7″ out with a couple of new tracks (again, no digital options this side of the pond) on his website that you can look into.  He also streams a lot from his SoundCloud page where the below track is from (both tracks from the 7″ are there).  My current favourite from JVM is “We Are Ghosts” which once again shows why I enjoy a JVM song, acoustics, that falsetto-esque delivery and dreamy indie folk that I have come to love.  Listen below:

We are ghosts by jamesvmcmorrow

So swing on by his website (here) and his SoundCloud page (here) to get a bit more info and some additional Sunday listening.

~Smansmith

So it’s inevitable for me, I’m Canadian, winter is on it’s way.  Today found snowflakes being pushed aside by my windshield wipers on the cold dark drive to work today.  Happy Monday!

Winter isn’t always so bad, often it is amazingly beautiful and peaceful when it is not wreaking havoc on traffic, power lines and such.  So let’s focus on the more positive side of the impending winter with two songs that aren’t necessarily about winter but certainly can convey the beauty of the often under-appreciated season.

John Goraj: “One More Winter” by Yer Bird Records
~
Ghosts I’ve Met: “Winters Ruin” by Yer Bird Records

The above two tracks are also on our label compilation, feel free to listen to them all HERE.

~Smansmith

Wha?  What is that?  Yes, its exactly what you think it is.  Wait, what?  You don’t know what it is?  You disappoint me…

It is a curling broom, and it is not used to clean up after a curling game…it is used IN the curling game.  You know, the SPORT of CURLING?!

Okay, enough fun, I assume you all know of the game of curling and above is a recent picture of one of my fellow Canadian music blogger’s curling broom (My Aimz is True) and she is gearing up for the new season of drinking…er, curling!  Obviously as a music blogger and all around bad ass chick she will have to show her true colours with the above is an example of what I am sure are her many “points of flair”.

Amy, you take it to the button.

“The Ice and Snow Still Haunt Me Still” – Brown Bird (visit)
“Black Ice (Third Floor Sessions)” – Ohbijou (visit)

~Smansmith

p.s.  You can also see Autopsy IV’s post over on Nine Bullets for more curling coverage.

p.p.s.  In all fairness I don’t curl as I don’t have the thighs for it…

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/10/17/slowcoustic-sunday-sports-edition-canadian-style/feed/ 3 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/10/03/how-i-never-knew-thee-finding-bands-after-they-break-up-conrad-ford-part-2/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/10/03/how-i-never-knew-thee-finding-bands-after-they-break-up-conrad-ford-part-2/#comments Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:26:27 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=5176

broken record image from here

Here we are at part two of the weekend’s “How I never knew thee” with Conrad Ford.  You can read a little more about how we got here on yesterday’s post along with 3 tracks from Conrad Ford’s previous album.

The Secret Army album from 2008 (in my opinion) really found Conrad Ford discovering their crooner side while still keeping a bit of edge from the Don’t You Miss Yourself album days.  We find some nice slide guitar and a lot more mood on this album.  Maybe it is almost like leaving on a high note as this album showed much potential in my eyes and they could have found a nice place beside bands such as Band of Horses and their ilk.  Oh well, lest we forget, listen to a few tracks – Truth Hits Hardest (below with VIDEO!) and Secret Army are current favourites.

Conrad Ford
“Truth Hits Hardest” (mp3)
“Secret Army” (mp3)
“Next City Blues” (mp3)
from “Secret Army”
(Tarnished Records)

Buy at Napster
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Puretracks
Buy at Amazon MP3
Buy at appliedSB / MCNE (Groupietunes)
Buy at mTraks
More On This Album

~

~
Remember, you can find out a bit about the band on their MySpace page HERE.  They have a blog post on “where are they now” as well, see it HERE.

~Smansmith

broken record image from here

So I got a bit of a random email over at Yer Bird Records from someone.  It find it happens quite a bit being a music blogger and label owner…imagine that.  So after some name dropping (albeit great names) he recommended a band.  The band has since broken up and the various members have entered into new projects and for the most part are still making music.  But I still like the original band too!  The band that is no longer recording!  I am also assuming there isn’t much chance of a huge reunion tour opening stadiums across North America, making a collective box set and issuing digitally remastered copies of their albums….so there’s that.

So the band is Conrad Ford and I also found that via my good friends at IODA, they have some promo tracks!  So the now defunct Conrad Ford come across as a mix of laid back alt country pushed through the mic at an Eels concert.  Sounds interesting doesn’t it?  Well that might not be what everyone hears, but definitely worth your time to listen to a few tracks and pick one of the many paths to purchase this Tarnished Records release.  The below is from 2006′s “Don’t You Miss Yourself” and my pick of the three is Godfather or Radio Station – just solid tunes.  Tomorrow I will have another 3 tracks from their last release “Secret Army” from 2008 which is grows on the below songs and comes out as a fantastic album as a whole, so stick around.

So overall, I get it, its over.  I’m just a bit disappointed…but I guess I should be at least glad to have the chance to listen to some “new” music.

Conrad Ford
“Golden Hearts” (mp3)
“Radio Station” (mp3)
“Godfather” (mp3)
from “Don’t You Miss Yourself”
(Tarnished Records)

Buy at Napster
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Amazon MP3
Buy at appliedSB / MCNE (Groupietunes)
Buy at mTraks
More On This Album

You can find out a bit about the band on their MySpace page HERE.  They have a blog post on “where are they now” as well, see it HERE.

~Smansmith

This change from summer to fall here in Calgary has been one of the most sour weather patches I have seen in my life.  We actually have sleet in our near future according to the weather forecast.  If only actual sleet was as welcome as the track from Meursault.  Just sayin’.

~Smansmith

Buy at Napster
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

p.s.  If you can, pick up the Cold Seeds album as well for another version of “Sleet”.  See it here.

~~~

FADE IN:

EXT. CITY – Morning

A SERIES OF SHOTS

–a clogged freeway at rush hour.

–a mall parking lot, now empty, rows of space looking for vehicles.

–busy city streets. Buses, taxis.

INT. VEHICLE IN TRAFFIC HOLDING 2 OCCUPANTS (HUSBAND & WIFE) – 7:22AM

–stopped at traffic light waiting to start moving with traffic once again.

–Husband looks in rear view mirror, brushes overly long hair out of eyes and across forehead.

–Husband glances at wife and says in a overly “faux witty” voice

DIALOGUE:

–Husband: “Wow, I could be Justin Bieber with this hair!”

–Wife:  “Wow…you could be Justin Bieber’s dad with that hair…”

INT. VEHICLE

–silence as car pulls away from traffic light and moves closer to downtown

–silence continues…

~~~

“Haircut (A Silent Symphony of Scissors at Age Six” – Theodore & Edgar

Visit Theodore & Edgar on Myspace.

~Smansmith (husband)

So my blogger mates Aaron at Tsururadio and Chris at Culture Bully are taking it to the mat and battling it out today in a mix tape-off!

What it is basically is a friendly (or is it?) comparison of a collection of music assembled together with a pseudo theme of 80′s vs. 90′s (Tsuru vs. Bully).  So who will win?  Will the crane be victorious or will the bully simply be just that, a bully!  Swing on over and place your vote in the comments on their respective blogs sometime today!

Just in case you were wondering, once again, it is:

Tsururadio brings the 1980′s to life! (click to visit and listen to his mix tape)

VS.

Culture Bully reliving the 1990′s! (click to visit and listen to his mix tape)

So head over and listen, download and vote!

To get you pumped up, how about tough as nails METAL!

Domine
“Battle Gods (Of The Universe)” (mp3)
from “Emperor Of The Black Runes”
(Dragonheart)

Buy at Napster
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

~~~
DoomSword
“In the Battlefield” (mp3)
from “Let Battle Commence”
(Dragonheart)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

I also can’t wait till this is all up close and personal when Aaron (Tsuru) & wifey visit Calgary next week (to enjoy the Sled Island Festival and visit Slowcoustic/Culture Bully HQ) and then Chris from Culture Bully looks him in the eye to say either……..”In yo face with your weak sauce mix tape” OR “Good job on the mix tape, it was really good and I admit your crushing jabs and knockout jams and you beat me utterly”….

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/06/25/no-slowcoustic-post-today-but-how-about-a-mixtape-battle-tsururadio-vs-culturebully-its-on/feed/ 1 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/06/10/its-our-birthday-wait-no-it-isnt/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/06/10/its-our-birthday-wait-no-it-isnt/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:15:14 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=4649 It is just MY birthday.  So nothing really “music worthy” today, just an update that I am not really having an update today!

Also, if anyone doesn’t know what I look like:

Yes, I turn a year older and as you can see I can still enjoy a bit of internets in my old age!  So wish me well and I hope to have ice cream cake tonight!  I leave you with the most appropriate song I have on my work computer.  I have always liked this cover (and the original is actually more “Slowcoustic” and is also a nice ditty).

“The End’s Not Near (New Year Cover)” – Band of Horses

~Smansmith

p.s.  I trust everyone’s gift is still in the post?

The Mountain Goats were in Calgary last night to “open” for The New Pornographers.  Yeah, open.

So let me start with saying that this isn’t really a review of the 40 minute show (more or less) of John Darnielle & Co.’s first ever visit to Calgary but more of a snippet of my thoughts about it.  The show was pretty darn special, mainly because I adore this band.  There I am biased, I fully admit it.

They played a full range of songs – even a couple of older tracks with full admission from Darnielle of the fact that they have never been here before, so why not?!  It was pretty darn good, some solo stuff…nice.  They sound great live, JD’s voice (with backing from Hughes) is pretty much spot on – he may throw an extra “Hey!” and such here and there, maybe even lose his place but it is all good.  There were classics like “Game Shows Touch Our Lives” and even newer classics like “No Children” and “This Year”, but it was the stand out “Love, Love, Love” that got down to a hush at times that really stole the show (for me).  Despite there not being any of my favourite classics there (from the albums All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee mostly) it was damn fine.

Damn fine for an “opening set”.  Sorry – I am a bit off put by the fact that the arguable indie icon (non-arguable in my opinion) was relegated (?) to the warm up slot for The New Pornographers.  Yes, we are in Canada and yes the Pornos have a brand new album – but still.  Also the fact that the show was at the University of Calgary I am sure swayed it a lot more to the more younger hip indie crowd as opposed to the “older” Mountain Goats fans.  Of which I fall into the latter.  Oh well – The New Pornos are a fine band, just not one that I would bend over backwards for and I think I am (incorrectly) mad at them for making one of my all time favourite bands open the show at 8:00pm and be retired to their tour bus before 9:00pm on show night.  John Darnielle and Peter Hughes didn’t don their suit & tie for that…  ;-)

$0.02

Enjoy a nice little out-take of an unreleased 7″ release from themountingoats.net.

“Adair” – The Mountain Goats, from the Jake & Faye 7″

~Smansmith

p.s.  Thanks to The New Pornographers for giving me the opportunity to see The Mountain Goats, I honestly mean that with no sarcasm at all.  So….bring them back again?

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/06/08/the-mountain-goats-in-calgary-my-thoughts-on-the-subject/feed/ 3 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/06/04/musicfloss-finds-itself-a-great-niche-is-this-the-next-big-thing-in-independent-music-distribution/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/06/04/musicfloss-finds-itself-a-great-niche-is-this-the-next-big-thing-in-independent-music-distribution/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:21:38 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=4627

The website is MusicFloss and if you are an independent artist and are looking for a platform to get yourself out there, this site is what you are looking for.

While MySpace is gearing up to simply be “MySpace Music” and numerous additional online distributing efforts around, I am not too familiar with a site that offers quite as much as MusicFloss does.  I mean you have Virb that is good and you have Bandcamp which is great, but this might be that half step up from Bandcamp due to promotional features.  Let’s take a look:

• Upload and sell your songs, individually, part of album, however you want
• Manage your online presence with photos, updates, tour info, videos
• Tracking system behind the scenes for sales, views, plays
• Widgets like the one below to put on your own website (including MySpace)
• Ability to send a link with your music to industry folks and have on their PR database (bloggers & review sites) and have it look pretty darn slick (see basic example)

In complete transparency, I am not working for MusicFloss but I have moved most of my label artists from my own label (Yer Bird Records, thank you very much) to join in this endeavor as I truly believe in it.  While I personally have joined as an Independent Music Label – we actually receive almost all of the revenue from any sales and if you are aware of the cut from the “big online retailers” you will know that this is a huge point of differentiation.   Aaaand if you are a solo unsigned artist it can get even better as you would receive 100% of all sales – you don’t have to worry about anyone’s “cut” of your sales.  You still have to set it all up, but if you are dedicated to your craft, spending an evening uploading/typing up the bio/getting pictures together – than this site is a no brainer.

The site is brand new as of June 1st, 2010 in a “public” sense now but has been in “beta” stages for a little while to get all the artists involved and everything up and running.  It is founded by the good folks over at the IndieMuse music blog (also a great blog for music in its own right) and it is touted as an independent community.  I know in “independent culture” the work community is thrown around quite a bit, but I think it is actually something that MusicFloss is really about.  You don’t even have to sell anything, just be there to get your music heard (this isn’t just a digital outlet, it’s the whole thing – see the breakdown of the benefits).  Remember, most sites are what you make of them, but MusicFloss kinda gives you a bit of a head start.  It is looking very promising and you should swing by for a look around!

~~Example of widgets to embed~~

Buy Ghosts I’ve Met’s music at MusicFloss. Artists earn 100%.

~Smansmith

I hope you readers are also following my other “night job” of running Yer Bird Records …(waits while sound of crickets gets louder…)…as we have been slowly but surely announcing updates on our upcoming compilation CD set for release this Summer.  I had said to myself repeatedly that I would do my best to not cross pollinate with my blogger life here at Slowcoustic – in other words, I have a pseudo financial interest in Yer Bird doing well so it is hard to promote it without feeling like I am pandering to you all to “buy my wares”.  But screw it, its going to be soo good, that as a music blogger I would be remiss in not letting you know!

So the compilation will be called “Folk Music For What Lies Ahead” which is an all encompassing phrase to go with me & my wife now being recent owners of the label and possibly moving the label ahead with the music that we find dear to our ears, the “slow & acoustic” type.  It also has a bit of a secondary meaning in the fact that “folk music” has taken on a wider range in definition the last few years, falling in line with terms such as “indie” and “alternative” did years ago.  Natural progression I guess – so in turn the compilation includes 18 artists that can range quite a bit across the spectrum of music that can be referred in internet circles as “folk”.

Now that the title has been established (yikes, now you know why its another couple of months…) – we think we have the cover art (similar to the great pic above and from a friend of the blog – more on that as it materializes).  I have heard artists lament on cover art and others flippantly put something that might catch a non-fan into picking up a disc or album.   I find I like to have something that I like in general just to start out with.  I think the photos that we will be using are incredible and can be considered art alone, so cover art has been discovered to be a bit overwrought for us…sigh.

Now the music!!!  Again, 18 artists that include a combination of Yer Bird Artists and some others that we just feel represent great music and artists we admire.  All the songs are in and I have been listening constantly for the last 4-6 weeks or so and I try not to be biased, but this collection is going to be fantastic.  There are solo acoustic, gothic folk, country tinged folk, gorgeous indie-pop-folk, bluesy edged tracks and even good old singer songwriter stuff!  All tracks are either unreleased (as of yet), alternate versions or new songs all together, and this deep pool of talent have graciously agreed to donate a track to the project.

So far we have only announced 6 artists because we are dragging it out a bit due to the release being about 2 months away.  So I thought I would update you on the artists so far and make a Saturday playlist out of it – but remember these are not the songs for the compilation, just songs from the artists to remind/ensure you how good it will be.

Yer Bird Records Compilation (with no songs from the actual compilation) Playlist

• Nic Garcia – “Triumph”, from 2005′s The Desperate Ones [Visit Him]
• Lotte Kestner – “Leif Erikson (Interpol Cover)”, from 2008′s China Mountain [Visit Her]
• The Gunshy – “It’s Time I Got Out Of PA”, from 2008′s I Gave Too Much Time To The Wine And Other Collected Eps [Visit Him]
• Sharon Van Etten – “For You”, from 2008′s Because I Was in Love (but check out the version on her self titled as well) [Visit Her]
• Cam Penner – “Thirteen”, from 2009′s Trouble & Mercy [Visit Him]
• The Mountains & The Trees – “Up & Down”, from 2009′s Hop, Skip & A Jump [Visit Him]

There you have it, you are up to speed – check back at Yer Bird Records every Friday for another update on the artists.  I am sure I will have another update here too, so don’t worry!  I am pretty sure we will have some give-aways here on Slowcoustic for it as well, so stayed tuned!

~Smansmith

“Belly of June” – Horse Feathers – from 2010′s “Thistled Spring”.

One of my most anticipated albums of 2010.  Pre Order HERE.

Just sayin’.  Maybe I should actually contact their Label for a review copy….yeah….  ;-)

~Smansmith

Just thought these videos from Edinburgh’s own Withered Hand needed to get posted.  While it takes a bit to get each started they show what I always expected them to be.

I don’t know what it is, possible the upbringing from a kid in Canada never seeing the UK and having to rely on pictures, TV and the internet to formulate an idea of a location.  But this is my idea of Edinburgh.  An idea of the location and the feeling it brings in my head at least.  Again, I don’t know Edinburgh, but I feel like it is strong with an undercurrent of talent for some reason.  Maybe due to myself being a staunch supporter of the blog Song, By Toad for both his taste in music and his great reads/rants plus his support for his local scene (he had a big part of TSM filming in Edinburgh also).  I almost feel like I know something about life in Edinburgh, if only a through a distant window with foggy lensed spectacles.

This is all an exercise in rambling on and a way to say, that I think Withered Hand and these videos are exactly what I thought the Edinburgh envisioned in my head would be.  A bit dreary, real people, lots of stone and real wood structures (not faux-finishes like around here) and really great music.  Regardless of what I think other locations and music are, please take the time to watch Withered Hand below or at The Shoot Music.

~~

~~

Visit Withered Hand:

Visit They Shoot Music:

~Smansmith

p.s.  Just in case here is a mp3 of “Religious Songs” by Withered Hand!

So I don’t have much for you all today in the form of depth to this post but I wanted to still provide you some musical enjoyment.  Practically a Slowcoustic regular, Samuel Stiles has his Bandcamp page up and running and he has some free downloads for all of ya.  He provides some great lamenting tracks and comes highly recommended.  Check out one of the new ones below.

Enjoy the Fridays y’all.  I will also provide a bonus in an absolute fantastic tribute to Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy from Stiles’ “A Love Tragedy Album”, see below for a stunner!

“Darkness (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy Tribute)” – Samuel Stiles

Visit Samuel Stiles on Bandcamp or MySpace and find the whole album “A Love Tragedy” for free download on Rock Proper.

~Smansmith

Day 2 of the music bonanza that is SXSW!  Again, I am not there so this is not a recap of incredible shows seen, amazing artists discovered or the amazing tacos I had for lunch with other festival goers.  Unfortunately.

But alas, the rest of the world goes on, but I wanted to provide the wishlist once again for Slowcoustic if we were to be in Austin.  The below are our suggested shows at SXSW today!

Thursday, March 18th recommendations (evening shows):

~~~

Location: Beauty Bar/Palm Door (401 Sabine St)
Artists: Dawes, Low Anthem, Deer Tick

~~~

Location: Buffalo Billiards (201 E 6th St)
Artist: Efterklang, Midlake

~~~

Location: Cedar Street Courtyard (208 W 4th St)
Artists: Wye Oak, Radar Bros.

~~~

Location: Central Presbyterian Church (200 E 8th St)
Artists: Timber Timbre, Dan Mangan

~~~

Location: Encore Patio (611 Red River St)
Artists: Horse Feathers, These United States

~~~

Location: The Hideout (617 Congress Ave)
Artists: Seabear

~~~

Location: Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room (512 Trinity St)
Artists: The RAA, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

~~~

Location: The Parish (214B E 6th St)
Artists: Joshua James, Greg Laswell, Joe Purdy

~~~

Location: Red Eyed Fly (715 Red River St)
Artists: Pearly Gate Music, The Wooden Birds, Rocky Votolato

~~~

**Location: Soho Lounge (217 E 6th St)**
Artists: The Black Atlantic
**Recommended**

~~~

Location: St David’s Bethell Hall (301 E 8th St)
Artists: Joe Pug, Chris Pureka

~~~

Location: St David’s Historic Sanctuary (301 E 8th St)
Artists: Sharon Van Etten, Anni Rossi, Sarah Jaffe

~~~

Location: Stephen F’s Bar (701 Congress Ave)
Artists: Ruth Moody, Danny Schmidt, The Pines

~~~

WOW, I don’t know what I would do.  Too many shows…it is almost, well, bad because too many shows makes for worthy bands being missed…I guess.

I leave you with the one band I would have on my list and move everyone else around in order to see, The Black Atlantic.  Listen, then please go and see.

“Reverence For Fallen Trees”
I Shall Cross This River”

~Smansmith

As I will not be involved with anything to do with Austin, TX this week I thought I would at least give my recommendations on a daily basis on what I recommend and wish I could see for SXSW (music wise).  And if you are looking for an anti-SXSW diatribe, you will not find it – I am not going, have never been to but hope everyone gets the chance to see a band that they really love and “discover” someone that they will begin to love (music wise…more or less).

Wednesday, March 17th (St. Patty’s day!) recommendations:

~~~

Location: 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn (500 N IH 35)
Bands: Trespassers William & Brian Borcherdt

~~~

Location: The Ale House (310 E 6th St (Alley Entrance))
Bands: Anais Mitchell & Alina Simone

~~~

Location: Club de Ville (900 Red River St)
Bands: Dawes, Bowerbirds
**Brooklyn Vegan Show**

~~~

Location: Soho Lounge (217 E 6th St)
Bands: Justin Rutledge, Melissa McLelland, Luke Ducet
**Six Shooter Show**

~~~

Location: Spill (212 E. 6th St)
Bands: Black Eyed Dog, Joe Purdy

~~~

Location: The Velveeta Room (521 E 6th St)
Bands: Via Tania, Jill Barber

~~~

This is all the shows that SXSW advertise on their schedule, so without going into PR emails and blogger house shows I am already full up with options and an impossible way to see them all in one night.  Oh, the decisions if I were in Texas tonight….instead I am here at work, sitting here, just…working.

“Workin For The Weakend” – Brian Borcherdt, Torches (the Ward Colorado demos)
(Download and Visit)

~Smansmith

I have to admit I am not that adventurous and also listen to a bit of a niche style of music.  So this would lend to not getting out as much as one should and connect or even know about the music scene in the city where I live.   Well it took an old school Calgarian returning back to “Cow Town” to bring life into what would be my impression of the Calgary Music Scene.  I admit, I tend to be out of touch….but not as much anymore!

Enter Chris from Culture Bully.  Ya all know it, Culture Bully Music Blog that was based out of Minneapolis for the last 5 years or so.  Pretty much an eternity in music blogger years, but here he is back in Calgary and taking on a task of beginning a collection of Calgary music hubs, artists, labels, blogs, magazines and whatever he can get his hands on.  I say kudos to him and for giving me (and hopefully the rest of you locals in YYCers) a place to check for info on what is happening.  This is a project and collection of web-pages that will essentially be a living document of who, what and where.  Want to know the MySpace page of a local artist…done.

Want to know if they have their own website…done.  Are they on twitter???   Done.  I also know that he is taking input to grow this database, so if you are local and you are “in the know”, why don’t ya help a brother out and give him a holler?  If you already are running a portal to all things Calgary – maybe touch base to share the knowledge or even just to say “hi”.  Hopefully we can grow what we have here in Wildrose Country (ouch…I know it’s cliche, but I had to).

Visit all things Calgary at

There you have it, something local for a change around here!  So in good faith and theme of this post, find a couple of tracks from Calgary’s own fringe electro-folk maven Chad VanGaalen to busy yourself with.

“City of Electric Light”
“Subterranean City Roots (CBC Radio 3 Session)”
Visit Chad VanGaalen at Flemish Eye

~Smansmith

Two sides of the same coin. Six of one, half dozen of the other. You know what I am getting at, two versions of one artist’s music. For fans, it can be both genre “eye-opening” such as this one might be or create a polarization of those that have give someone a sound they are most comfortable with.

Okay, let’s just get it out there that I am a “folkie”, so this post is a reference to Withered Hand releasing a “dance” remix of “Love in the Time Ecstasy” so I might be biased. Regardless, for some it is just more output from an artist and if they are a fan, this is often a good thing. For others, when artists experiment (or hell, this example could be the real Withered Hand, I wouldn’t know) they feel almost betrayed as it isn’t the artist they thought they knew. This post is a scenario of essentially a fringe folk type releasing a pseudo dance track. This probably would never, ever, ever have happened prior to the “mash up/remix” craze that affects the music scene today, but we can’t reverse the evolution of music now can we? So where to we stand? Let’s take a listen shall we.

Withered Hand
“Love in the Time Ecstacy (Swimmer One Remix)“ (mp3)
from “No Cigarettes”
(SL Records)

More On This Album

~~

Withered Hand
“No Cigarettes” (mp3)
from “You’re Not Alone”
(SL Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album
~~

Just so we are clear, the above two songs are now together on this new single release as “No Cigarettes” is re-released from You’re Not Alone as the b-side to the remix. So? Do you feel like this is an evolution of an artist, a side diversion of an artist or simply something he did one day and thought it turned out pretty good (or the re-mixers did a good job and he thought it was worthy)? I obviously like the old school Withered Hand, but that is no surprise due to my limited tunnel vision (is that an oxymoron?). I don’t think the SL Records remix is bad, but it feels like something Bronski Beat would have released in the early 80s. Maybe it is another option to get more notice for Withered Hand…not a bad thing, but is it necessary?

What do you think?

~Smansmith

Kinda been a hectic last bit with the various world events, personal events and upcoming events.  What is it of which I speak?  Well, glad you asked.

How about those Olympics?  Pretty sweet in my opinion, but I tend to quickly jump on board of sports I would shun in any other forum…I dunno, all of a sudden I am a fiend for biathlon for 2 weeks every 4 years!   I, like a true and proud Canadian, enjoyed the Gold Medal Hockey game this past Sunday and I am even glad it went to overtime for the win.  I hope all you other Canucks had a chance to enjoy a few frosty brews with friends while it happened (I know I did).  Enjoy this bit of Canadian Hockey Classic – Stompin Tom (video & lyrics)!

Just received my tickets for me and the wifey to go see The Tallest Man On Earth when he hits Calgary this May, should be a good show as everyone I know who has seen him live says his shows are excellent.  With his new album The Wild Hunt out in the next couple of months, it should be right on time!  Enjoy “King of Spain” (mp3).

Thinking of hitting the Postdata and Julie Fader show here in Calgary on March 18th.  If you are not totally aware Postdata has a new album which you could say is the perfect blend of Clem Snide and Brian Borcherdt.  This is a very good thing…enjoy “Tobias Grey” (mp3).  Julie Fader is also quite a lovely songstress who’s album “Outside In” was one of the best Canadian Albums last year.  Enjoy “Goodbye Before Hello” (mp3).  You should check out a show if you can (check Hand-Drawn Dracula for dates).

Next week should see the launch of the new Yer Bird Records website that I gone and stolen from the former owner and good friend Morgan.  Make sure you drop by starting Monday, March 8th for a visit to say “hi”.  We will have lots of tracks to download and after that, I will be perilously balancing that act of music blog AND music label owner.  Trying not to push bands that I may have a financial interest in and also trying not to hound those damn music bloggers about giving away mp3s from my bands!!!!  ;-)  Enjoy a song from one of our favourite releases “Cancer and Delirium” from J. Tillman, “When I Light Your Darkened Door” (mp3).

Visit Canadian Hockey
Visit The Tallest Man on Earth
Visit Postdata
Visit Julie Fader
Visit Yer Bird Records

That is about it for now, what’s new with you?

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/03/02/status-check-updates-and-a-few-concert-alerts-in-the-slowcoustic-radius/feed/ 3 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/02/28/bowerbirds-video-northern-lights-is-this-sundays-soundtrack/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/02/28/bowerbirds-video-northern-lights-is-this-sundays-soundtrack/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:24:37 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=4139

Bowerbirds “Northern Lights” from matt amato on Vimeo.

“Northern Lights” (mp3) – Bowerbirds, from 2009′s “Upper Air”

So Always a fan of Bowerbirds and this track is great for Hockey Showdown Sunday at the Winter Olympics.  Obviously I am cheering for the Canadians for gold and so let’s hope these “Northern Lights” today shine in a golden hue for our boys on ice today.

Visit Bowerbirds

~Smansmith

TGIS!**

I love Saturdays! (**please note that this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but you know how it goes…Sunday Morning Fever??) It very well could be the best day of the week (most definitely) and that is that, there is no back talk from any of you.  Ya here me…the best day.  I find Saturday great as you get to sleep in and stay up late in the same day with little repercussions due to standard work schedules.  I do apologize to those of you who may in fact work at the “proper” job on weekends, but I am much too set in my ways and much to old to give up my weekends to anything other than being lazy, watching a movie, maybe a beer or two and listening to music.  Seriously what else would a music blogger do…go out to a live concert??  “Now that is crazy!”[...he says as Dan Mangan and Aidan Knight perform at one of our "Technical Institutes/Colleges" this very night...] {EDIT – remember, this was last night due to not posting this yesterday!!}

Well I have a couple of videos that I think you should see.  The first one is from Shelley Miller and is possibly a Sunday Morning live performance of “Walk Away” and it is quite lovely.  I find the track a bluesy, roots tinged folk track that finds itself delicate and gritty at the same time.  Don’t think the flower dress and mostly hushed acoustic guitar is not balanced by the powerful voice and, um…skull planter on the window sill.  I think that just says it all for this Chicago talent.  Find her on MySpace and her Website.

Bonus rip of this great track – “Walk Away” from Shelley Miller

~~
Another video is one of the videos discovered by Craig over at Songs:Illinois this past week and it truly was  a nice find!  There is a whole lot of Sufjan styled acoustics and vocal delivery and now that Sufjan himself is dangling from the ledge of his signature sound as it is, well we have someone to take the torch on that one.  The video’s are a bit DIY and fit the sound in spectacular fashion – you can find a download of the song “Sarah Minor” over on Songs:Illinois – so go get it!

‘Sarah Minor’ from Keaton Henson on Vimeo.

~~

So something I thought was funny, I received the PR email about Midlake like many bloggers did – but I noticed it was all just “look at Midlake, they are good…honest, you have to believe us!”.  I presume it came out due to the negative review on Pitchfork, which I think is a bit weak – the album is pretty good, so it should not have to have any knee jerk due to a jerk at PF (see what I did there?).  I think the album is quite nice and as a laid back fan – I like it but I am not going to die on that hill if you know what I mean.  Just thought it was funny, never mind the backlash on various social media sites due to this “mis-step” by Pitchfork.  I think the review was gone about the wrong way but isn’t completely off the mark – they just came up with a verdict that you are not allowed to have your own sound…is it soo wrong to sound like yourself?  Anyway.

Another thing that both made me happy and made me a bit proud (by proxy) is getting a PR email about The Deep Dark Woods releasing their track “Charlie’s (Coming Down)” on 7″ vinyl.  What you say?  Yes, the track that (as far as I know) was only available via the HearYa music blog…until now!  The song was an entry for CBC’s Great Canadian Song Quest and was the Saskatchewan contender about the Good Time Charlie’s bar in Regina.  Well, it won (of course) and they are releasing it officially with two shows in their home province (March 5th – Saskatoon, SK @ Louis Pub & March 6th – Regina, SK @ The Exchange – both with The Sumner Brothers joining in!!).  Highly recommended if you are available to get there.  This all made me happy for the great track and proud as a blogger showing that they can influence the greater good – way to go HearYa in assisting in getting the song released!  Watch and listen to the great HY session HERE and find that winning track HERE.

Bonus DDW:  “The Gallows (CBC Radio 2)”
“Winter Hours (CBC Radio 2)”

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2010/02/07/a-couple-of-videos-couple-of-mp3s-and-a-couple-of-thoughts-for-this-saturday-er-sunday/feed/ 0 http://slowcoustic.com/2010/02/01/i-enjoy-non-slowcoustic-music-no-really-i-do/ http://slowcoustic.com/2010/02/01/i-enjoy-non-slowcoustic-music-no-really-i-do/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:32:27 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=4015

So I am driving to work this morning and my 1st gen iPhone is now my “car stereo” and while on some form of random and I start to get a bit of a beat.  I sit there in traffic dumbfounded and wondering what has happened?  Has some DJ hacked my home network and placed music that is over 60bpm into my iTunes library?  Even worse, did somebody say “mash up”?  I immediately decided to beef up my encryption of my wireless network key at home….

Okay, so all jest aside, it was some Justice remix that came on and I didn’t press forward.  I know what you are saying here “…but Sandy, where is the acoustic guitar and an ‘in the gutter’ Texan troubadour?”.  Well friends, those folks are nowhere in sight today – its Monday and I need a pick me up.

The pick me up is from TOR who you may remember from his Sufjan Stevens mix-tape adventure (see my post here).  This time it is only a single track and it is Final Fantasy vs. Q-tip, and I am not afraid to say that it really works and I have been listening to it a lot since receiving it a few weeks back.  All I can say is take a listen and enjoy your Monday!

“The CN Tower can work it out (Final Fantasy f. Q-Tip)” – TOR

Visit TOR on his website here for more samples of his mix mastery – HERE.

~Smansmith

So I am building the new Yer Bird Records website (hey, did you know I am mid-way through a transition to take over my own record label? Well now you do…) and when building a page for the great Matt Arbogast, The Gunshy, I found the above photo. Its a great photo in general (from Mr. Ryan Hendrix) but really look at it…it turns out it is absolutely fantastic. Just the negative space (is that what it is?) all around him and with just the surfaces reflecting a lone spotlight. Wow.

I start to absorb the photo and then I have to listen to some Gunshy. Have to. Arbogast’s “early morning after a late, late, late night” voice is (to many) his signature – but don’t let it distract you from the songs themselves, there is soo much there. So I start playing a couple of tracks and one of the tracks that hit me was the title track to his 2004 EP “What Will They Speak of You When You’re Gone?”. The song has everything and also gives you everything. It literally “leaves it all out there” – it is hushed, it is angry, it is pensive and it is gut wrenching. I know I tend to be a bit wishy-washy as some say about liking “singer-songwriters” but Matt Arbogast bleeds for you. The song is tragic, and so incredibly encompassing that it must be heard. You must listen. Even when the monitor turns on and you hear the hum at 3:20 of the track, it still fits – like everything else in the song, it is just supposed to be there and fits what I needed today.

Just thought you needed to hear it.

“What Will They Speak of You When You’re Gone?” – The Gunshy

Visit The Gunshy and Pick up a copy:

~Smansmith

Many bands have a shelf life because let’s face it, often musical tastes change as you age.  There are also factors such as mood, location, social circles that tend to influence the music you are listening to and again let’s face it, all music is not meant for all situations.

That is unless you are a fan of The Mountain Goats such as I.  I will always like listening to The Mountain Goats and let’s face it (where am I going with these “let’s face its”?) there are great albums and just really good albums.  I am partial to Tallahassee, The Sunset Tree, All Hail West Texas and We Shall All Be Healed among the massive amounts of releases by John Darnielle and crew.  Sometimes you just need to listen to the lyrics, feel the delicate delivery followed by spittle flying angst the next.  Truly an independent music icon if ever there was one.

Another reason:

~~~
So that is about it.

Oh, and enjoy a pseudo “unreleased” duo of tracks that were found on their website a few years back that are both absolute great tracks.

“Cut Off Their Thumbs”
“Deserters”

~Smansmith

While I am not totally against the weather this time of year, I actually like the fact that we get seasons (I mean REALLY get seasons) and ultimately I think this time of year needs some sort of snow to truly feel festive, etc.  Although, we always picture this:

We tend to really get this:

Well, I wish you all the best this New Year’s Eve and remember on a night like this, the only place you should get crazy is the dancefloor.

One last thing that actually relates to music is a nice little juxtaposition of what I have kind of been talking about.  A video of the bearded one, William Fitzsimmons playing a bit of a seasonal ditty: “Covered In Snow”.  All while there seems to not be any snow around.  Still a good song from one of the best hushed indie singer songwriters around today.  See you all next year!

Bonus track: “You Can’t Hurt Me” from William Fitzsimmons {Visit Him}

~Smansmith

I thought I would try to break down what I listened to this year for songs that more or less came out in 2009.  What I am saying is some songs will have been released in 2009, some will have been live or bootlegs in 2009, some will have been re-released and some were demos for upcoming 2010 albums.  But let’s be clear, these all came to me in 2009, were basically recorded/released in 2009 and were listened to in 2009.   This is also from my iTunes library and is NOT doctored in any way to try and justify any “best of list” I made or an attempt to put enough hip bands to seem cooler than I am (I’m not that cool).

You will notice some albums seem to get a lot of plays and it might be they were top of my list and I simply pressed play before sorting so they simply got played more.  I sort my library from “date added” so if I got your album and nothing else fairly close, you got a lot of listens – this doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, but might reveal why some artists got heavy listens while not technically making my #1 album of the year, etc.  This also doesn’t include what I would listen to at work but does include most commute plays as my iPod should update my number of plays once I reconnect to my computer.  **If anyone knows a Last.fm script that you can manipulate by year, let me know!**

So here is the list, no mp3 links for them, it is more about seeing what somebody *really* listens to as opposed to what they say they listen to.  I think I stole this idea from Tart at Love Shack, Baby as she did something like this recently (see here).

My most listened to tracks of the year from the year and of the year!

1. I Shall Cross This River / The Black Atlantic / Reverence for Fallen Trees
2. Dirty Water / Doby Watson / Twenty Two
3. Twenty Two / Doby Watson / Twenty Two
4. Reverence for Fallen Trees / The Black Atlantic / Reverence for Fallen Trees
5. In The Drugs (Low Cover) / J. Tillman / unreleased
6. He Rode Off / Huck Notari / Very Long Dream
7. If I Had a Boat (mix 56) / James Vincent McMorrow / demo, “Early In The Morning” due 2010
8. Ruby And Lou / Richmond Fontaine / We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
9. This Old House / Matt Epp / Safe Or Free
10. Selfish Guns / The Wheat Pool / Hauntario
11. Goodbye My Love, Goodbye / Haruko / Wild Geese
12. Northeast Kingdom / Sarah Winchester / The Northeast Kingdom Demos
13. Dance On My Skin / Mi And L’au / Good Morning Jokers
14. A Resignation / concept: bravery / The Trouble With Pretending
15. Harmless Sparks / David Bazan / Curse Your Branches
16. Colors Of Sun / Doby Watson / Doby Watson
17. Idaho / Gregory Alan Isakov / This Empty Northern Hemisphere
18. Going Home / The Maldives / Listen To The Thunder
19. William Henry Miller Pt.1 / Meursault / Nothing Broke EP
20. Raft / Sarah Winchester / The Northeast Kingdom Demos
21. Walked-on Wood / The Black Atlantic / Reverence for Fallen Trees
22. Age Of Man / J. Tillman / Year In The Kingdom
23. Speak With The Dead / White Pines / A Face Made of Wood EP
24. Pummel / Doby Watson / Twenty Two
25. Belated Promise Ring / Iron & Wine / Around The Well
26. Wild Honey (demo) / J. Tillman / final version found on the 7″ single “Wild Honey Never Stolen”
27. Up In The Building / Mi And L’au / Good Morning Jokers
28. Words Mean More / Gregory Alan Isakov / This Empty Northern Hemisphere
29. Old Black Dodge / Sean Rowe / Magic
30. Howling Light / J. Tillman / Year In The Kingdom
31. There Is No Good In Me / J. Tillman / Year In The Kingdom
32. Marked In The Valley / J. Tillman / Year In The Kingdom
33. Miss Me / Joe Purdy / Last Clock On The Wall
34. Emerging / The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice / Moon Colony Bloodbath
35. Proximity / Oweihops / Viburnum
36. Funeral Song / Laura Gibson / Beasts Of Seasons
37. Can’t Know / The Weather Station / The Line
38. My Proud Mountains / J. Tillman / Introducing Townes Van Zandt Via The Great Unknown
39. Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree / James Vincent McMorrow / Early In The Morning
40. All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast / Bill Callahan / Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

~~~

Well that was 2009 – so I wonder what will dominate next year…my iTunes awaits.  Till then, have a few “yearly” tracks to ponder.

“This Year” – Lanterns on the Lake
“The Lost Year” – Andrew Rose Gregory
“A New Year (Song for Ryan)” – Sam Lowry
“New Years (Third Floor Session)” – Ohbijou

~Smansmith

]]> http://slowcoustic.com/2009/12/29/my-year-according-to-itunes-playcounts-with-no-cheating/feed/ 4 http://slowcoustic.com/2009/12/24/my-holidays-are-a-breeze-yes-you-read-that-right/ http://slowcoustic.com/2009/12/24/my-holidays-are-a-breeze-yes-you-read-that-right/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:04:32 +0000 slowcoustic http://slowcoustic.com/?p=3782 So this time of year (yes, its one of those posts, but come on…) and it is usually either stressful, taxing, exhausting or simply wears you out.  Or it just might be a combination of any of those ;-)

For me, its usually not too bad as I don’t really take the “holidays” too seriously and now that I am getting a bit older (I said “a bit older” folks) it is less about opening gifts and frolicking in the snow but more about time away from work, drinks and some alone time.  Alone time?  Yes, I am in fact an only child and from a single parent family and I have no children of my own.  Poor me, right?  I don’t know.  Maybe because I was brought up in this scenario that crowds and huge family get togethers seem out of place for me.  If it gives you an idea, my December 25th morning will be me, my wife and my mom who has flown into Calgary for the holidays and my two dogs.  That’s it.  Sure we are heading out to the wifey’s family in the afternoon as there is actually family on her side, but I think maybe it is the quiet times of the holidays that I really like and look forward to.  That and making excuses to buy something excessive for myself because honestly the holidays are not too difficult for me – but one still needs to be rewarded for making it through this time of year!  Yeah, I like that last part about the excessive purchases…yeah…

QUESTION(s):  So, anyone with horror stories or is it all okay for you all?  Did you want to post it in the comments?  Is this a family time of year for you all?  Is this just time away from school/work/hometown and if not is it still something that you look forward to?

Well, for some of you it might not seem as easy as I have made my holidays sound, so my advice is to breathe deeply, slip away every now and then and just think that it will all be over soon.
For you: “The End’s Not Near (New Year Cover)” from Band of Horses.

And if you are into this time of year, I applaud you as you just may be a better person than I.  So for you, how about something a bit more in the season – try a nice little original from previous Slowcoustical
For you:  “Still, Still, Still” from “Land of Leland” (see a previous mention).

Happy “whatever it is you want it to be this time of year” to you all from Slowcoustic.

~Smansmith

p.s.  Maybe the breeze I am thinking of is the breeze of the ocean off the coast of Mexico that I will be seeing in a week…  I said my holidays are not stressful, right?

So I am just starting my vinyl collection as I started it prior to actually picking up a new (media station friendly) turntable.  Well, actually the wife bought me one that I can rip directly to my iTunes, so it sits next to my computer and doesn’t enjoy the front and centre location it deserves.  I mention this as I am just starting to purchase more and more vinyl, usually ordering 1 a week or so.  This might not sound like much, but I am not necessarily collecting all the great albums of the past that every collector feels they require when beginning.   I am also not going to get started on sound quality and “hipster quotient” scenarios involved – lets just leave it at the fact that I still buy physical media.  I am just looking for a good to great record that needs a new home with a few good friends.

Just last night I received the 7″ limited vinyl (#288 of 300, thank you very much) of Elephant Micah’s “In Midnight / Ocean Floor” which came on the heels of the freshly pressed limited vinyl (#93 of 160, if you have to ask) of Elephant Micah’s “Exiled Magicians” that arrived last weekend.  All this came after my copy of J. Tillman’s “Year In The Kingdom” arrived 2 weeks ago, and just after I pre-ordered the new 7″ Tillman release from Western Vinyl.  Well, that is the last 3 weeks and I am at a loss of what will be next.  I am looking for suggestions from you fellow bloggers and readers of Slowcoustic – you come here for the same music, so what are you buying and what should I be buying?  I don’t want anyone to start recommending 12 LP box sets as albums alone can be up to $30.00 with delivery to my door!

So the task at hand is for you to post in the comments of what should be my next purchase!   I have an idea on one already, but I need to have a bit of a push to take the plunge to the old paypal account.  Just a few last words of advice, do not recommend an aging rocker gone soft or young folkster gone rock.  And for all that is holy, please no Lady Ga Ga suggestions either.

“In Midnight”
“Ocean Floor”
~Taken from Elephant Micah’s In Midnight/Ocean Floor 7″
(the digital download is available free on his website, among many others)

Visit Elephant Micah on his website HERE to order a copy of the vinyl (if they are any left) and pick up more available mp3s.

Visit Western Vinyl for a “pre-order” of the new J. Tillman 7″ vinyl by clicking HERE.

~Smansmith

Well class, I wanted to put a quick post on what is happening around Slowcoustic HQ – just looking to keep you all in the loop, we’re a team after all.

Hopefully you all are finding it okay to get to the site lately, my host has been a bit erratic on the up-time in the last couple of weeks, I am looking into it and may be moving hosts to ensure more quality sad bastard music making it through the “big pipe” to your very keen ears.  So basically I apologize if any of you were looking to make it over here to pick up a tune or two and were given a strong left upon trying to negotiate to the site.

~~~

Just getting ready to send out the info to my fellow bloggers for the “Best of 2009″ series set to take place in December, hopefully Dec. 7-22 on weekdays only.  If any of you were around last year, what I do is invite fellow music bloggers to do a feature blog post on something that they think was pretty darn neat-o this past year.  The list can be just about anything: best album, best live band, best album cover and best make out album…almost anything!  The side bar to the right of this post (your right, not mine…wait…) you will see a block of images that represent the various sites that are taking place.  So stick around, you may find something that you don’t normally see on this blog and you just might like it!

~~~

I have been listening to some pretty good tunes lately and hope to get a lot of features upcoming – recent albums I really like and I think you should check out include Frank Schweikhardt, Heather Woods Broderick (yes that Broderick), The White Buffalo with a recent discovery of JBM via his Daytrotter session.  On repeat around here is that Isbells album and those Borcherdt demos and the amazing new EP from Hezekiah Jones (see Herohill’s post on it).

~~~

Also, because I know you all can’t go without a fix (myself included) – how about some lo-fi recordings??  Well this will hit the spot – Andy Berkhout has released a new EP called “Songs on Tape”.  It is aptly named as it was recorded on an actual tape recorder and is a great EP for you lo-fi singer songwriter admirers, which I assume should be a fair share of you readers.  The EP is classic guy with a guitar – its an intimate collection of bedroom folk pop that will have you humming and looking for more.  More you say?  Well he has another EP “In The Light” on his website that is available for a free download.  A free download you say?  Yes, both EPs are available for absolutely nothing – definitely a great option to pick up some solid tunes at rock bottom prices (but don’t forget about his new full length for purchase).

“Feel You Now”
“Just To Say”
taken from “Songs on Tape” EP

Visit and Purchase Andy:

~Smansmith